


Oddity

by therook



Category: GOT7, Red Velvet (K-pop Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Fluff, Romantic Fluff, Slight OOC, but it's au anyway, so please enjoy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-24
Updated: 2017-10-07
Packaged: 2018-04-17 01:59:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 3,753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4648017
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/therook/pseuds/therook
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Seulgi is a reporter who is (reluctantly) tasked to write about Jaebum's emo band. He is fascinated, she is unimpressed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The [prompt](https://twitter.com/jaebumpictures/status/629810900183072768) that started it all; conversations with friends gave a new take to this fic, followed by my intrigue with their [non-interaction](http://tuansandwich.tumblr.com/post/105868502743/jb-seulgi) during SBS Gayo Daejun and this photo masterpiece.
> 
>   
>    
> 

“Covering an emo band is not exactly the assignment of a lifetime,” Seulgi grumbled.

Seated by his desk, Mr. Park, her editor pointed out, “You are not in a position to decline, Miss Junior Reporter.”

She let out a deep sigh, begrudgingly resigned to her fate. “Okay, what kind of angle do you want for this Def Soul band? Who named their emo band ‘Def Soul’ anyway?”

“Well, you can ask them that after their show tonight at Club Java and maybe use it in your article,” replied Mr. Park. Seulgi grunted in exasperation, “Of course they will be performing at a coffee house. If they start reciting poetry, you will be receiving my shortest article yet; beginning with ‘they’ and ending with ‘suck.’"

Mr. Park simply raised an eyebrow after her declaration. Seulgi’s grim expression cleared. “Do they know I’m coming? I don’t want to be mistaken as one of their groupies.” Smiling at her antics, Mr. Park slid a piece of paper across his desk towards her. “Here’s the contact info. I told them that you are going to be in the crowd tonight and will be meeting them after their set.”

“Jaebum,” Seulgi read the name on the paper aloud. “Who is he?”

“The vocal and also the band’s leader. They don’t have a manager yet so all communication will be done directly with the group.”

“Yay.”

Mr. Park picked up his mobile phone off the desk, signalling the end of their mini meeting. She thanked him for the chance and headed out of his office. As the door clicked shut, he shook his head and could no longer contain his grin. She was one of their best junior reporters and was about to be made permanent. He wanted a fresh perspective on the up-and-coming band and she was the best person for the job despite her complaints.

Kang Seulgi, a determined junior reporter of average height, long wavy hair with a charming face that one would deem as unique. Her cat-like eyes are her best feature when they are brimming with quiet passion. She would treat this 'emo band' baby like she's Woodward and Bernstein.

Walking back to her table, Seulgi sighed with every step. She was thankful for the assignment, she really was, but she longed for the hard-hitting journalism with gritty materials. She took a seat at her cubicle and stared at the blasted piece of paper in her hand. 'Any assignment is a good assignment;' that was her mantra to get through her first year in the publishing company.

"Well, everything has its own time," she muttered as she dialled the number on her phone. Her drumming fingers stopped when a voice picked up on the other end. "Hello?"

_Honey._

"What?"

"Oh, sorry! Hi, I'm Seulgi from Vibe magazine."

"Hey, Seulgi. You are coming to our show tonight, right?"

"Yes, I just want to confirm the interview. It will be short and painless so you don't have to worry."

"Aww, you don't have to be so formal. After tonight, we will be a lot more acquainted."

Seulgi frowned and glared at her phone. "Are you for real?" So much for her attempt to sound professional.

"Yeah, you will get to see us in our full glory, up front and centre on that stage."

"I'm confused. Are you a band or a Chippendale troupe?"

The guy snorted, "Pssh, semantics. Anyway, see you tonight. Wear a flower in your hair so I'll know it's you." Then he hung up. He actually hung up.


	2. Chapter 2

Jeans. Sneakers. Comfortable sweater. Good.

Appraising her reflection, Seulgi was ready to tackle the night.

God, she couldn’t believe she actually considered his flower-in-hair idea. She did not want him to think that she was suggestible. Plus they could have easily called each other up to meet later.

She took a taxi to Club Java and boy, was she surprised. She was greeted by loud music, unfitting of a relaxed coffee house she had in mind. Why did she even think it was a coffee house when the name has ‘club’ in it.

The crowd was quite small when she entered the club so she managed to get a spot a few feet from the stage.

_What now?_

Seulgi observed the club-slash-coffee-bar. She will use hyphens because establishments shouldn’t be fusion too. The club has a straightforward layout; the stage and dance floor at one side and the coffee bar with seating area at the other end. She guessed it was quirky to serve coffee like any real bar would with alcohol.

She took in all she could since she was not planning to set foot in this place again. Not her type of scene, two extreme atmospheres inhabiting one space.

The lights dimmed so she turned her attention to the stage.

A five-man band was getting ready while she was distracted. The guy in the middle held a microphone so she assumed he was the guy she talked to on the phone. And he wore a black tank top. Wow _._ She did not know why she felt compelled to focus on his outfit choice.

Maybe because she was enchanted. No, offended.

Phew, caught herself there.

Every member was attractive but him. He was, well, _offensive_.

Going into their second song, Seulgi was disoriented. It was bad enough that he was easy on the eyes, but the ears too? He had to have a shortcoming somewhere; flat feet, webbed toes, something. Any flaw will do.

Her annoyance with him earlier today was forgotten by the sight of him.

She did not sign up for this.

Okay, technically she really didn’t.

*             *             *

Im Jaebum scanned the room swiftly. Their typical crowd on any given night. He was grateful for their fans’ unchanging support, always, but he needed to reach a wider audience. He knew the band had ‘it.’ He gave his all in every performance, hoping that they will have a breakthrough. He struggled with these thoughts when someone caught his eye.

There was an oddity in the crowd tonight. He knew who this oddity was but he didn’t expect a charming oddity.

He should stop calling her an oddity.

He tried to make eye contact with the audience like he usually does but as the performance went on, he found himself wanting to sing to her alone. He could tell that she was fighting her nonchalance for him and he wanted to unravel her even more.


	3. Chapter 3

Seulgi had half the mind to bolt and ditch the interview altogether. She was beyond overwhelmed. No, she wasn’t overwhelmed. She was _unsettled_. She felt it deep in the recess of her stomach and she just wanted to sleep it away.

Yet here she was; professional dignity still intact while her insides were in smithereens.

Her foot tapped incessantly, waiting for the band to show up. Since Def Soul was the only act for the night, she figured the place would be quiet enough for an interview so she texted Jaebum to meet her at one of the booths.

She pored through her questions to calm her nerves. She needed to appear as every inch the capable reporter she was despite her jitters.

“Hey.”

Looking up from her notes, she found Jaebum by her table. Alone. She peered around him. “Where are the others?”

“They will be out soon.” He took a seat across from her and flashed a smile.

_No, nein, non. Nope._

A booth that could seat six people suddenly seemed so small. There was no avoiding his lethal smile.

“How long are they going to take?” She was desperate to get this interview over and done with.

“Not long,” was the curt reply. Another smile.

She could not do this. She stood up suddenly, “I have to go.” Grabbing her stuff haphazardly, she tried to leave the booth but was blocked swiftly by Jaebum who slid into her side of the booth.

He asked her indolently. “Why?”

“Can we do this interview over the phone?” Seulgi pled with him, hoping he won’t notice her avoiding the loaded question. _Why? Because you and your smile are doing things to me._

He tried to placate her with a grin. “My band members are pumped for this interview. The least you can do is let them have their say.”

Seulgi reluctantly agreed to stay.

*             *             *

Jaebum almost laughed out loud but held it in. Oh, he knew why but she was so adorable when she was flustered.

He felt bad that he blocked her exit but they did have an interview set up and he wanted to know everything about her, even if she wasn’t willing to volunteer the info herself and this might be his only chance.

As much as he wanted to utilise his usual flirting techniques, he could tell that none of them would fly with her. And technique was not something Jaebum could use on an oddity like her. She needed deeper conversations, watching the rain together, staying inside with a book.

So maybe he was projecting what he wanted to do with her as company and not about her per se. He longed to know more about her but she held him away at arm’s length with ‘Keep Out’ signs all over. He had to start anew.

He held out his hand and said, “We haven’t properly introduced ourselves. Hi, I’m Jaebum, leader and vocal of Def Soul.”

She slowly glanced towards him, eyeing his hand warily before shaking it. “Hi, Seulgi. Vibe magazine.” Then she turned back to her notes.

_Okay, baby steps it is._

Jaebum tried again. “Do you have any questions for me? You know, get it out of the way first.”

“I do but it might be better to wait for the members before I ask.” She gave him a dismissive hand gesture.

Unable to take it anymore, Jaebum spoke. “Let’s skip the preliminaries then and go straight to the jugular.” He paused dramatically. “Banana milk or strawberry milk?”

Seulgi looked at him oddly. “How is that important?”

“It’s important if it means I can make you comfortable throughout the interview.” He gazed at her intently. “Why do I scare you so?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really sorry for the long delay between chapter 2 and 3. Writer's block is not a myth. Anyway, I can safely say this fic will have a chapter or two left before its completion. I might do another installment depending on how this ends (I'm still deciding on which ending). I hope you can drop some comments, constructive or otherwise, because I'd love to know what you think of my little fic; the good, the bad and the weird.
> 
> Thank you for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

_“Why do I scare you so?”_

A chorus of ‘hi’ and ‘hello’ greeted the booth before Seulgi could process the question, much less consider to answer it. Jaebum grimaced at the timing, just as he was making a breakthrough.

Seulgi blinked away the confusion, stood up and introduced herself to the other members. “Hi, I’m Seulgi. It was a great show tonight.” Cue a beaming smile.

Jaebum did a quick take at her. “I didn’t think you would notice,” he remarked sarcastically. She ignored him.

The guy with a guitar case strapped to his back held out his hand and pointed to his guitar with the other hand, “I’m Sungjin. The guitarist.” Yes, she gathered as much. She grinned anyway because he was so animated when he talked.

Next to Sungjin, the guy with a tall nose flashed a brilliant smile, “Hi, I’m Brian. I play the bass.” The other two guys behind him shyly nodded their greeting. “Mark,” the blondie introduced himself curtly. The last guy leaned forward to shake her hand, “Jinyoung.”

Seulgi conversationally asked, “So, what do you guys play?”

“Hah, you _weren’t_ paying attention!” Jaebum cried triumphantly.

Her cheeks flared up at her blunder. “It was too dark to see who plays what. I only needed to hear you guys.” _Take that!_

Jaebum only smirked at her knowingly. She gave him a side-eye glance before turning to Mark and Jinyoung. Mark had the same knowing grin as Jaebum before answering her. “I’m the drummer.”

“And I play the keyboard,” Jinyoung replied as he shot her a smile. Seulgi took a long look at the members who had just joined them and got mad at herself for only noticing the annoying one. Each one of the member was distinctively gorgeous, it would be a treat to see them perform live. Which she could have had but the offensive one took up too much space.

After much fuss of where to put their precious instruments, everyone finally seated themselves inside the booth. She rubbed her hands together, raring to interview the band with her amazing reporter skill. The annoyingly offensive one was merely a setback. She took out her phone to record and delivered her opening line.

“Here’s the thing, I didn’t search up on ‘Def Soul’ because I wanted to form my own impression of the band without any outside input,” she explained. “So I apologise in advance if I touch upon a sensitive subject and please, do let me know if I did.” She looked around to make sure everyone understood and the guys nodded. “Let’s begin, shall we?”

Seulgi asked them about their beginnings, how the band was formed, when the gigs started trickling in. As the interview went on, she was able to forget her discomfort with Jaebum earlier. Despite the three noticeably quiet members, everyone answered eloquently and earnestly. She was fascinated by the vibe of the group. Their differences somehow made the band harmonious, bringing her to the next question. “Have you guys fought before?”

Everyone cracked up laughing. She was puzzled. Sungjin chuckled at her expression and said, “When have we not?”

Jaebum, who was increasingly smitten by Seulgi, took pity on her. “No matter how mellow a band is, there will always be creative undercurrents.” She prodded for an explanation with a curious look. “Each member has their own style and preferences so trying to come up with a song that will satisfy everybody…,” he trailed off. “Now, that’s a challenge.”

He went on to elaborate about their creative process; writing lyrics and composing, getting everyone on the same boat with every new song. “We fight because we care,” he concluded.

 _Enter a new set of discomfort_. His voice was like warm, velvety caramel that Seulgi was hanging onto his every word. Getting a glimpse of his passion for music and his band had her doubting her initial aversion. He wasn't the playful guy from before. She wasn’t prepared for this onslaught of… feels, all happening at the same time and she wasn’t sure how she was going to survive the night, unscathed.


	5. Chapter 5

Jaebum was desperate. The interview was coming to an end and he wasn’t making any headway in breaking through Seulgi’s wall. Other than brief eye contacts every now and then between the questioning and the answering; Seulgi the person, the woman, the reporter, the oddity, remained elusive. Considering the circumstances, he was too hopeful that the interview would provide the answers for him regarding her.

Though he noticed that she was less quippy with him as the interview went on. Maybe she changed her mind about him? He didn’t want to be presumptuous by asking her out but how else could he kiss her mind? His past experiences in the flirting department didn’t equip him with the ways on how to approach a Seulgi. This Seulgi. _The_ Seulgi. His members probably thought that he must be crazy to ask out someone he just met but really, how could he explain the pull she had on him. His feelings were a jumbled mess in just one night. They would have fun at his expense.

Too preoccupied with his thoughts, he belatedly realised that everyone in the booth was looking at him. He raised an eyebrow, expecting an answer without actually asking the question. Mark, such a dear, hinted at him to wrap up the interview by doing a circle motion with his finger.

Jaebum sat up straight slowly and asked, “Do you have any final question?” Yup, Mr. Cool-as-a-Cucumber through and through. Seulgi narrowed her eyes suspiciously but didn’t remark on him being distracted. He had prepared a retort but she was really less unfriendly towards him. Should he be worried?

Seulgi looked down at her notes. She had a question but it didn’t feel right to ask. Almost tactless after what she had learnt about them. Completely ignoring her notes, she asked a question that would give clarity to her article perspective.

“What drives you? What keeps you going, to do what you do?”

Everyone seemed to be pondering but Sungjin had a mischievous look on his face before opening his mouth. “I don’t know about everyone else but I know for Jaebum, it’s his daughter Nora.”

The other members chuckled. She must be looking aghast because the members were full out laughing now. She turned towards Jaebum. He had the nerve to look sheepish. “You have a daughter?!”

Jaebum fiddled in his jeans pocket while trying to explain, “Only of the feline kind! She’s a Siamese cat.” He took out a phone from his pocket, skimmed through it then shoved it to her face. “Look, isn’t she cute?”

It was a photo of a Siamese kitten wearing turquoise beads as the collar. Seulgi knew deep down in her heart that she should be running for the hill and far, far away from this threat to her heart.

_How did one night and a cat daughter manage to change everything?_


	6. Chapter 6

Seulgi’s mind in a swirl as she tried to hail for a taxi outside of Club Java. Usually she would be formulating the structure of her article after an interview was over though tonight had proven to be out of ordinary for her. She was actually entertaining the idea of a Jaebum, or dating a Jaebum to be exact. She wasn’t looking for a relationship per se nor was she lonely but she might actually consider it. Funny, that.

She stopped herself. The guy probably enjoyed teasing girls and she fell right for it. Though she couldn’t help feeling that they had something. She smirked. Who was she kidding; she was too out of practise to interpret any signal from guys. Too deep in her musings, she didn’t notice someone coming to stand next to her left.

“What are you smirking about?”

She jumped and instinctively smacked the stranger’s forearm. “Don’t do that!” she all but yelled when she recognised who it was. She laid her hand on her chest, trying to still her racing heart. “Don’t sneak up on me like that again.”

Jaebum clutched the arm that was hit and mock winced. Then he grinned, “Oh, are we meeting again?”

Seulgi turned away and murmured, “Safety precautions.” A moment passed, she looked around her, “Where are the others?”

“Gone.”

She waited for Jaebum to continue but he didn’t. Since her curiosity was at an all-time high, she had to know. “So why are you here?”

Okay, that was good. Ask trivial questions before leading up to what she was really curious about.

He gave a small shrug. “To make sure you get home safely.”

“Why?” She faced him fully as she asked. They were now standing facing each other almost like a challenge.

“So you will be in one piece for our date.”

 _The nerve_. She scoffed. “But you didn’t ask me out.”

“I was going to.”

“I’m listening.”

“Well, I’m asking you now. Do you want to go out for coffee?”

Her shyness dissolved. His trepidation gone. Both Jaebum and Seulgi were smiling at each other. But Seulgi wanted to get the upper hand. “Coffee? Is that your best shot?”

Jaebum’s expression turned serious. Maybe she should have turned down the sass. Hastily he explained, “I wasn’t sure if you were interested so I wanted to start small, get to know you slowly.”

“This just escalated quickly.” Seulgi laughed to break the tension. “Very forthright, are we?”

He laughed too, before he made a sheepish face, scratching his temple awkwardly. “So you haven’t given me an answer yet...”

She made up her mind as she studied him. For once, she decided to do what she wanted to do, not what she thought she should do. She broke her gaze and walked away. After a couple of steps, she stopped and looked over her shoulder at Jaebum. “Come on, I saw a real coffee shop just around the corner.”

Betraying every first-date rules and shedding any inhibition she thought she had, she held out her hand. To Jaebum’s credit, he was hesitant to take her hand at first. He shook his head subtly as if to clear his thoughts and jogged over to her to link hands.

As they made their way to the coffee shop, suddenly Seulgi was overwhelmed by how her hand felt in his, how he might perceive her recklessness. She slowly pulled out her hand from his grip but Jaebum held firm. Flustered, she abruptly declared, “I’m not easy.” She was not one to back out on her words or actions but she needed him to know at least that much about her.

“I know.” Jaebum smiled at her reassuringly.

Seulgi halted her steps and turned to him. “What are we doing here?”

Jaebum faced her then looked at their intertwined hands, his thumb caressing her knuckles. His gaze shifted to her as he looked into her eyes and earnestly said, “I don’t know.”

Gripping her hand, he continued, “But all I know is that I like you. I want to get to know you and nothing else seems to matter.”

Seulgi was touched by his sincerity but she had to make her misgiving known to him. “I hardly date and suddenly I’m already holding hands on the first date? It’s scaring me, how this is all moving too fast.”

Jaebum laughed, "We're on our first date already?" He quickly sobered up when he realised that she was embarrassed. “Hey, if this is the first date, then it is the first date." He nudged her chin with his other hand and suggested, "Or we can just call it a night if you want. Let’s have a proper first date at a later time, your call.”

She was on the verge of crying and laughing. If she were to be honest with herself, she wasn’t ready to call off the night yet despite her mixed up feelings. “You know what, let’s call this a half date. A prologue.” Gaining some of her confidence back, she tugged their hands to continue their walk and replied, “I’ll let you know when and where chapter one starts after our coffee date tonight.”

Jaebum was happy to be led away by her, smiling the entire short distance to the coffee shop. He would take anything he could get as long as his oddity was with him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, I'm truly sorry for the long delay. I lost my draft along with my enthusiasm after my hard disk crashed but fret not, I'm here to give this fic a proper closure.
> 
> Thank you for reading :D


End file.
